books & arts

Dive into the Universe

Cosmic Clouds 3-D:
Where Stars are Born
By David J. Eicher,
Brian May and
J.-P. Metsävainio
THE LONDON
STEREOSCOPIC
COMPANY: 2020.
192PP. £35.00

T
he team that brought the gripping
story of the space race between the
Soviet and US space programmes to
life with stunning three-dimensional (3D)
imagery in Mission Moon 3-D is back,
this time setting their sights much farther:
the birthplaces of stars. As before, Cosmic
Clouds 3-D uses stereoscopic images (pairs
of photographs taken with slightly shifted
points of view for depth perception) to
great effect. However, no cosmic-scale
camera exists to take stereo photographs
of molecular clouds in deep space.
Instead, writer David Eicher and creative
director Brian May have collaborated with
astrophotographer J.-P. Metsävainio, who
creates 3D images of celestial objects using
a combination of “known scientific facts,
deduction, and some artistic creativity”
(more on that later).
The book begins, as it should, with
a chemistry lesson. After all, stars are
the chemical factories responsible for
compacting, fusing and distributing
elements throughout the Universe.
Astronomers read the spectral lines of
different elements and molecules from a
given source as geneticists read DNA.
Next, Eicher deftly zooms out to the Milky
Way and beyond to fully illustrate the
diversity of molecular clouds, star clusters,
supernova remnants and galaxies. We are
then introduced to a variety of nebulae,
from emission nebulae (star factories)
to planetary nebulae (“cocoons of dying
stars”) to reflection nebulae (clouds of dust
and gas that reflect light from a nearby
star or stars) to dark nebulae (dense
clouds that block background light,
such as the Horsehead nebula), and
supernova remnants.
In addition, the book offers a detailed
discussion of the life cycle of stars, rounding
off with a realistic view of how life on
Earth might end (naturally as opposed to
anthropogenically). Thus, Cosmic Clouds
3-D is much more than an introduction to
Fig. 1 | The Lagoon nebula. This molecular cloud is large enough to be visible to the naked eye and is
actively forming stars. Just left of centre is the young star Herschel 36 — a monster weighing in at 32
solar masses. Credit: Don Goldman
stellar nurseries. Rather, it transports the alive. When viewed through the stereoscope
reader around the cosmos and teaches them (which comes with the book; alternatively,
some astrophysics while they are staring, adjust the screen such that the centres of the
captivated, at the pictures. There are also two images in Fig. 2 are about eye-distance
useful tips on how to view some of these apart and cross your eyes), the swirl of
wonders using backyard telescopes. purple resolves into a tunnel blown out by
Throughout the book, accompanying the stellar wind from a bright young star
(flat) images taken by amateur and (near the right edge of the photo), pushing
professional astronomers look glorious on the dust outwards (appearing in silhouette
glossy paper. Of course they do. These days,
we are at risk of taking such pictures for
granted, spoiled as we are by the Hubble
Space Telescope. Even with commercially
available telescopes, amateur astronomers
are producing breath-taking images, such as
Nicolas Lefaudeux’s winning photograph of
the Andromeda galaxy in this year’s Insight
Investment Astronomy Photographer of the
Year competition.
But as amazing as these photographs
look, they are inherently two dimensional
(2D) and it can be difficult to absorb all
the detail and make sense of the structure
within a riot of colour. And here is where
the 3D images by Metsävainio shine by
literally revealing a new dimension of
information. Take, for instance, the Lagoon
nebula (Fig. 1) in Sagittarius. The giant
interstellar cloud is aglow with stars and
ionized gas (mainly H ii), with bright and Fig. 2 | The Lagoon nebula in 3D. Credit: J.-P.
dark areas. In 3D, however, the image comes Metsävainio

Nature Astronomy | VOL 4 | October 2020 | 917–918 | www.nature.com/natureastronomy 917

books & arts
in the foreground) into dense clumps
of protostars. It’s like tumbling down a
psychedelic rabbit hole!
So how is the spatial depth accomplished?
Actually, decent 3D visualizations of
astrophysical phenomena are common
tools for scientific presentation and public
outreach, although the results are sometimes
more art than science. The general
procedure, according to one of the pioneers,
Wolfgang Steffen, is straightforward:
“Most of this work is based on actual
photographs that are separated in parts
that the author believes to have a structure
that can roughly be mapped onto a surface.
Stars are isolated individually or in groups.
This procedure is done manually in photo
editing software. Then a 3-D animation
software is used to map these partial images
onto 3-D mesh objects that are suitably
918
located in a 3-D environment. Finally, stereo
images or other types of 3-D visualizations
are rendered by changing the viewpoint of
the virtual camera.”
Metsävainio’s description of his
method at the end of Cosmic Clouds 3-D
sounds similar to what Steffen describes.
Metsävainio applies as much scientific
knowledge as possible to create his 3D
images, and really pushes the technique to
the limit. But only so much depth can be
created when starting from a 2D medium.
Ideally, a full volumetric reconstruction
would allow a viewer to fly through the
space and view it from any angle for an
interactive experience. This simulation
technology is possible with Steffen’s
state-of-the-art modelling software,
born from data analysis tools; the 3D
stereoscopic animation of NGC 2392
Nature Astronomy | VOL 4 | October 2020 | 917–918 | www.nature.com/natureastronomy
(Eskimo nebula) by Steffen is not to be
missed. “Seeing the space in space is
very hard”, as Steffen puts it, so we need
complementary methods for conveying the
complexity of nebulae and other deep space
objects to the public.
Indeed, it’s a rare book that combines
beautiful imagery with total clarity in
writing; this one not only accomplishes
both but pushes the boundaries with 3D
stunners. With the publication of Cosmic
Clouds 3-D, anybody can take the plunge
into deep space. ❐
Reviewed by May Chiao ✉
Nature Astronomy.
✉e-mail: M.Chiao@nature.com
Published online: 24 September 2020
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-020-01231-w